For Nantucket native Nancy Chase, the venerable craft of scrimshaw is a living art form. She cut her first pieces of scrimshaw from part of a whale jawbone given to her by her grandfather, Warren Benson Chase. In 1952, she carved an ivory silhouette of Nantucket Island for the lid of her mother's José Reyes lightship basket, and began supplying Reyes, one of the island's foremost basket makers, with ivory whales and other designs for his lids. In 1962, she took the bold step of leaving the security of her position at the Pacific National Bank to embark on her dream of a life of full-time carving. She has been most celebrated in her career for her scallops, whales, and whirligigs. Chase has served for many years as a member of the Nantucket Historical Association's board of trustees.

This embroidered narrative is bordered with adjectives used by Chase's sisters to describe her. Susan has also shown her engaged in one of her favorite activities--riding her John Deere lawn mower.